The singer now 26, from Salford in Manchester, made headlines back in 2001 when she appeared on Pop Idol and refused Simon Cowell's marriage proposal on national television.  Although Sarah did not make it to the final, she was offered a management and recording deal with Simon Fuller's company, 19.   Two singles were released, both reaching very respectable chart positions – When I Lost You (no 6) and Automatic (no 11).  Then, unsure about the direction her career was going at that time, Sarah took the bold decision not to release her debut album choosing instead to concentrate on her writing.  Of this decision she says: "I just wanted to disappear and write.  I was determined to make my own mark, I just didn't know how long it was going to take."

Now she has reappeared, the new single 'Smile' marks the start of Sarah's ultimate comeback.  Her album 'Time To Think', due out early next year, demonstrates the full scale of Sarah's silky, pure voice and her ease across a wide variety of sounds.  It is testament not only to her vocal versatility but also the writing talent with which she is blessed.

We haven't seen you around for a while. What have you been doing since your last album a few years ago?

Hiding! I've been writing for the past six years. It's been very difficult but brilliant at the same time. The past two years has been great because I managed to get this album together and collaborated with some people I felt good working with. It's kind of the old school way of doing things. It's definitely been worth the wait.

Who did you work with on this album?

I worked with quite a few different people and travelled all over the world working with some of the best producers out there. I was performing at 19's anniversary party and Greg Fitzgerald was there. We ended up working together and wrote Smile. I also worked with Peter John Vettese who is amazing and we connected very well. He actually didn't want to work with me at first because I was from Pop Idol but after spending half an hour together we wrote a song called Unsure which is on the album. It was tough to find the right people to collaborate with, it was quite time-consuming.

Smile is quite mature compared to what you did previously. Is there other music like that on the album?

It's a very mature and sophisticated album, a bit philosophical. It's basically for women and explains certain issues and situations. There aren't really any love songs on there. It's a body of work from beginning to end and there are no fillers. It's just a beautiful album with real strings and drums.

The video is quite colourful and original.

Whose idea was it?

We had trouble coming up with what the video would actually look like but we had quite a few treatments come in and there was a clip of sunflowers which connected with the song and we went with that. It was hard to do the video because it was screens and I couldn't see anything, I just had to act. We kind of went with a Pushing Daisies theme.

Are you currently in touch with Simon Cowell?

I never really was initially but people tend to think I was signed to him but I wasn't. I was signed by Simon Fuller to 19 Management back in the Pop Idol days and have been with them ever since. I don't go over to his house for cups of tea or anything like that! I saw him a long time ago in America but that was it.

You've come from a reality show and that can't be avoided. Do you hope to have the same kind of success that Leona Lewis has had?

I have no idea and can't predict that at all but Leona is very talented and there's no doubt about it. At the end of the day I'm from a reality show and people seem to forget that even before that I was writing and in the studio. I've done it a different way this time and exactly how I wanted to. It's about the songs and the music and allowing people to connect to them no matter who they are.

What are you hoping for with this album?

I think the music really speaks for itself and I don't have to explain too much. All you have to do is listen to the songs and make up your mind. Once you've heard it you'll understand what I'm saying. As long as people hear it they will react to it. Hopefully it will do well but who knows.